Shortcomings and Caveats:
These shortcomings are due mostly to our desire to experiment with mapping a large data set like TRI and
get it on the internet as quickly as possible. For these reasons
we made several decisions to accomplish this. First, we kept the overlap between maps to a minimum (10%) so that fewer images were required. A larger overlap would have made
navigation smoother (see our latest work for SVTC to see how more overlap smooths navigation). Second, we did not zoom down to the street level because this would have involved even more images.
Third, as a result of our second decision (above), we had to make the
icons indentifying the TRI facilities rather small so that individual
facilities that were close to one another are distinguishable.

Positive Features:
Given all this we feel that this first effort has many positive features. The maps load very quickly even though they are quite large by WebMap standards. The lack of multiple zoom levels gets you down to the working level, where the facility icons are "hittable," quite
quickly. The smallish 10% overlap means that you are able to "pan"
around the map quite quickly. We are very pleased with our decision
to link to RTK Net for
more detailed TRI reports. They are a good "match" with our desire
to make the information readily available in a quick and easily
understood fashion. RTK Net provides the "cornerstone" for Right-To-Know information in the U.S.

GIS Mapserver?
Why in the heck didn't we use a GIS mapserver for such a big project?
This is certainly an alternative. We have created such a server for
our client, Cruzio. Similar to this
project it is based on Maptitude GIS by Caliper Corporation, the fastest GIS and GIS mapservers
around, in our experience. Unfortunately the cost, technical expertise,
and lack of ready access to a server keep this out of the reach of most
people. Because of this we wanted to create a project using an
alternative that is low cost and available to everyone who has a website.

Nuts and Bolts:
We used Maptitude to create the maps for this project. Maptitude is
still, in our experience, the best GIS value around. It can handle
very large map layers quite well, while competitors slow to a crawl,
and it comes packaged with most all of the base map layers you will
need. The most amazing product though is Web GIS Lite created by
Aran Meuser (yes, it is more than a coincidence that he shares my
last name - he's my son). It does all of the hard work for you. I urge
you to check out Web GIS Lite and Maptitude.

Future Stuff:
We are continually exploring new products and programs that will
lower the cost and ease the process of creating WebMap projects. Two
products that we are looking at now are Manifold GIS and AGIS, a shareware GIS program.
Both of these products show great promise. Visit their pages
and check them out.

Contact Us:
If we
can be of any help to you please contact us. Also, remember to check
out the SVTC WebMaps for a better
demonstration of the power of Web GIS Lite and Maptitude GIS.

May 24, 1999:Visit our 1997 Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) nationwide interactive web mapsite. The maps show 1997 (latest data release) TRI facilities in California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Nevada, and Arizona. Over the next 10 days or so we will be adding the balance of the Western states. All facilities are linked to full TRI reports provided by RTK Net. These reports offer details about releases and transfers and also indicate the destination of transferred toxic wastes. Many of the chemicals in the RTK reports are linked to their own database or the EPA Iris database.

Worst Case Scenarios:
Also, many of these facilities (and many more) will be required to file "worst case scenario" reports to EPA in June, 1999. In the next weeks we will provide contact information so that you can obtain these reports for your region.

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interactive toxic chemical facility
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